Like most Edgar Allan Poe adaptions, The Pit and the Pendulum only barely resembles the original text. But if you have read any Poe you could hardly be surprised by this seeing as his stories were very short and had very limited plot-lines. They were more a case of a single horrible idea with a small amount of story surrounding it. In this case, the screenplay was adapted by Richard Matheson who was the writer famous for the novel 'I Am Legend'. He does a good job of fleshing out the story, adding more interesting detail while still incorporating the central idea. It's not until the excellent finale that we really see the material taken from the book but it's well worth the wait as the ending is very strong both in terms of suspense and visual artistry.
On the whole, for a low budget movie this looks quite sumptuous. It's consistently nice to look at with great use of colour, including some monochrome flash-back scenes. The sets, costumes and quality of actors are of a high standard. In this sense, it mimics the approach of the Hammer films, whose low budget Gothic horror films similarly had a very polished feel on a similarly low budget. I guess director/producer Roger Corman was intentionally aiming for this and he himself directed a further handful of Poe adaptions for his company AIP; all of which followed the same basic template and were equally impressive productions on a small budget. Of course, it is never going to hurt a film to have Vincent Price on board. He always delivers quality in my opinion and here is no different. He is especially good in the final third once he goes insane and believes himself to be a reincarnation of his infamous father, a notorious torturer from the Spanish Inquisition. Additionally, it can also never hurt a film to have Barbara Steele in it either. She was the queen of 60's Gothic horror and starred in a number of productions. In this one she only has a small role but it's very important and memorable.
It's probably a movie that is best defined by its excellent ending though. The first two-thirds build up the tension and intrigue but events spiral to a crescendo in the final third. It's really once we meet the terrifying wonder that is the pit and the pendulum that the movie moves into iconic status. Overall, this is certainly one of the best examples of 60's Gothic horror.
On the whole, for a low budget movie this looks quite sumptuous. It's consistently nice to look at with great use of colour, including some monochrome flash-back scenes. The sets, costumes and quality of actors are of a high standard. In this sense, it mimics the approach of the Hammer films, whose low budget Gothic horror films similarly had a very polished feel on a similarly low budget. I guess director/producer Roger Corman was intentionally aiming for this and he himself directed a further handful of Poe adaptions for his company AIP; all of which followed the same basic template and were equally impressive productions on a small budget. Of course, it is never going to hurt a film to have Vincent Price on board. He always delivers quality in my opinion and here is no different. He is especially good in the final third once he goes insane and believes himself to be a reincarnation of his infamous father, a notorious torturer from the Spanish Inquisition. Additionally, it can also never hurt a film to have Barbara Steele in it either. She was the queen of 60's Gothic horror and starred in a number of productions. In this one she only has a small role but it's very important and memorable.
It's probably a movie that is best defined by its excellent ending though. The first two-thirds build up the tension and intrigue but events spiral to a crescendo in the final third. It's really once we meet the terrifying wonder that is the pit and the pendulum that the movie moves into iconic status. Overall, this is certainly one of the best examples of 60's Gothic horror.